Business radio set to launch early 2014 on SiriusXM channel 111, app and online

Monday morning, The Wharton School announced a new partnership with Sirius XM Radio to create “Business Radio powered by The Wharton School,” a 24/7 radio channel that features expert business advice and news from top business experts around the world.

Wharton faculty and alumni will host a variety of business-related programs, including “Market Update with Jeremy Siegel,” “Sports Business” and “The Business of Retailing.”

“The initiative aligns well with Wharton’s reputation for innovation and will allow us to reach a broad range of mainstream listeners interested in business topics,” Dean of The Wharton School Thomas Robertson said in a press release.

Sirius XM, which has previously partnered with New York University’s Langone School of Medicine to create Doctor Radio, initially approached Wharton in February about the business radio station. The idea was met with enthusiasm, said Channel Director of Business Radio Karl Ulrich.

About 50 members of the Wharton faculty and staff collaborated with Sirius XM to “hone a concept that would be consistent with the mission of the School and that would be popular with listeners,” Ulrich said in an email.

Ulrich added that the biggest task for business radio is to produce 40 hours of live programming per week — the rest of the time will be dedicated to re-broadcasts.

Business radio is set to launch in early 2014 on SiriusXM channel 111, and will also be available through the Sirius XM Radio App and online. Before then, administrators of the business radio will continue to search for program hosts, producers and a permanent studio location on campus.

The studio will likely be located in one of the three Wharton buildings on campus, according to Project Director of Business Radio Brandon Lodriguss.

“Our [primary] objectives are to deliver on our social mission to educate business leaders,” Ulrich said.